Tonight, I went around with my Clorox Wipes and wiped down most of the hard surface, plastic toys that I could. I also ran most of the bath toys through the dish washer. I'm just not sure I can even remember to do this on a regular basis, much less find the time to actually do it.
SO here is my question for all of you....Do YOU clean your kids toys? How often do you do it and what do you find is the quickest and easiest method? If you are like me and don't regularly clean them, please let me know that too! Tell me I'm not alone!!!
11 comments:
Never have and can't imagine doing so.
I don't...I have just never really thought to do it. I cleaned all of the baby toys that Cayden used for Emresen. I will also throw the fabric stuff in the washing machine...but as far as the plastic stuff goes, nope. Now I am feeling kinda bad about not doing so.
Well, I'm a weirdo, but you already knew that. So yes, I do clean toys. I kind of started on a little schedule when she was a baby and I just kind of stick to that.
-I wash all her stuffed animals, along with her bedclothes, in the washing machine every weekend. Any stuffed animal that can't be washed (has a noise maker inside or something) goes into the dryer for a 20 minute fluff on high heat to kill germs. Also, now that she has pillows, her pillows are fluffed in the dryer, too. It bothers me that I can't really wash her dress up clothes because they're so fragile. I do fluff them in the dryer on high heat, though.
-I wash all her baby doll stuff (clothes, play diaper bag, play bouncy seat cover, etc) in the washing machine every other weekend. At the same time, I also run all her kitchen toys/plastic food through the dishwasher. I just wipe her wooden food/kitchen set down with a Chlorox wipe.
-On the alternate weekend (from the above listed thing), I run her hard plastic toys (Little People, blocks, etc) through the dishwasher every other weekend. I also throw her booster seat in there to sterilize it. So, I just do one "toy cleaning chore" each weekend.
-Katie Anne takes showers now, so we really don't have bath toys, but for all the time she was taking baths, I ran her bath toys through the dishwasher once a week on a high heat setting to kill any mold. I really worry about mold growing on bath toys, but I was afraid to spray them with chemical cleaners when I clean the tub because she put them all in her mouth and so many of them have holes. I was afraid the cleaner would get inside and I wouldn't rinse it out well enough.
-As far as other toys, like her tool bench, that she doesn't play with on a daily basis, I just wipe those down as I think about it. Usually, about once or twice a month I'll do that.
When she was a baby, I was really good about wiping down her swing, bouncy seat "toys", exersaucer, etc. with a Chlorox wipe almost every day after her bedtime, but I'm not as serious about it now. At her school, they sterilize every toy, every day.
If any of us are sick, I clean things a little more often than this. I don't know if it makes any difference to do all of this or not.
:)
Nope, never cleaned them. We don't have play groups at our house often - maybe if we had more I'd clean them? Ok, probably not then either :)
Wow, I love the tips from Katie Jones. I have some stuffed animals that don't have removable noise makers, so now I know what to do! I'm friends with Alison and read your blog from hers. I have twin 18 month old girls. I'm pretty germaphobic, but I don't clean the toys as often as I should. I normally do the sink of bleach and water for all their little people and plastic toys every few weeks, but no schedule for it, so sometimes it goes a month without being done. Then I wash their baby dolls and bunnies every 2 weeks (every other sheet changing), or whenever I see dog hair accumulating :) I work the church nursery, and we use Clorox wipes on all the plastic toys. It's probably faster than the bleach and water, but I feel funny about not rinsing them, so I do the sink method at home so I can rinse too. I love seeing the pics of your 2 little ones. So cute!
I don't clean toys on a regular basis. Whenever we have a playdate at our house, I will usually go around after bedtime and spray everything down with Clorox Anywhere spray. I love that stuff! You don't have to wipe it off if you don't want to and it's super quick. I'm not sure if this is correct, but I once read somewhere that the Clorox wipes aren't good for regular use on toys. I could be wrong but if I remember right, they said it's okay for those toys that aren't used on a daily basis. Apparantly, some of the chemicals from the wipes stay on the toys and when your child puts the toy in their mouth, they also get some of the chemical. Just an FYI.
I always wondered about stuffed animals but now I know. Thanks Katie Jones!
Don't feel bad Carrie Beth! I don't know where I would find the time to clean all her toys on a weekly basis.
NO! I actually did clean the bath toys the other day for the first time in a long time. The only times I wipe down the toys is if there has been a sick kid here playing with them. Then I just wipe with a clorox wipe.
Nope...I don't! I wipe off exersaucers and Bumbos (but usually bc there's some slob on there). I did like Brit...I wiped off toys that were Lainey's while I was pregnant with Bree and I wash L's lovies every couple of washes with her sheets but we have 5 so it doesn't happen a ton either.
I might so a cleaning if I had playdates here or someone's kid who had a runny nose or spit up a lot, but the only kids I have over are ones that are practically my own anyway so I don't stress. I look at it this way...we've made it 23 months without any ailments so I'm building her immune system...haha (I don't even rinse of passies unless I drop them in something or I'm standing at the sink already --- AWFUL!)
I never really clean them. I do run them through the dishwasher from time to time and have wiped them down after playgroup or a cold, but thats about it. This is an interesting one!
Negative. I used to put bath toys in the dishwasher, but wound up just throwing away all of them that could trap water inside (squirty toys, squeaky ducks, etc.) 'cause its impossible to get all of the water out and some pretty nasty stuff can build up inside after time. Once in a blue moon I'll spray down some of the big toys with Clorox Anywhere Hard Surface Cleaner, but that's it! I would bet the vast majority of moms don't bother. I'm a firm believer that kids need to be exposed to some germs in order to build up immune systems, but well, that's just my opinion :-)
Nope, no cleaning on a regular basis here. I do have a good tip for bath toys which I do clean on a pretty regular basis. I just fill the tub with water and bleach and let them soak. I fill up and empty the squirty toys a few times and let them soak a bit. Then I clean the tub after. I am a bit weird about the mold that can grow but other then that, unless there is an illness, I don't clean the toys.
Post a Comment